


A Little Love

by OnlyTheInevitable



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Presents, one bed, stuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyTheInevitable/pseuds/OnlyTheInevitable
Summary: Mulder tries to give Scully the best impromptu Christmas he can after they get stuck in a snow storm. MSR.
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 63
Kudos: 235
Collections: X-Files Secret Santa Fanfic Exchange (2019)





	1. Winter Storm Warning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [red2007](https://archiveofourown.org/users/red2007/gifts).



> My entry for the 2019 X-Files Secret Santa Exchange, for the always lovely red2007!! I;m so happy I got you again because you are truly the sweetest!! I hope you enjoy (and the last two chapters are coming ASAP).
> 
> Huge thank you to my betas! SlippinMickeys, MonikaFileFan, and admiralty. You guys are the best!!!
> 
> Title is a quote from my boi Linus, the superior member of the Peanuts gang.

When Bing Crosby sang of a White Christmas, this couldn't have been what he meant.

Scully was surprised there was an attempt to plow the highway, not that it did anything. There was five feet of snow on either side of their car, the mile markers were unreadable, the salt that had been scattered on the road was starting to become ineffective with the new round of snowfall, and the lines of the highway weren't visible. Mulder was driving as cautiously as possible - though she wasn't sure it was possible to drive recklessly at less than ten miles an hour - but she was still thankful that they were the only ones on the road. Clearly, the only two people in the world foolish enough to brave these conditions.

" _I'll get us home, Scully. Don't worry."_

The reassurance might have worked on her a few hours ago when they initially left. When the forecast guaranteed sunny skies and above freezing temperatures. But now he'd fishtailed three times already, the wind chill put the temperature below negative twenty, and there was a Winter Storm Warning just issued on the radio.

"Mulder, let's pull off at the next exit," she requested, trying to keep her voice gentle so he didn't think she was mad at him.

"We're over halfway there. I'm sure I could get you back before dark," he replied, not risking taking his eyes from the road to look at her.

"It's okay. I'll just call my mom when we find a motel and I'll let her know I'll just miss Christmas Eve and that I'll be there tomorrow," she reassured him.

From the way he clenched his jaw and let out a small sigh of resignation, he knew she was right. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

There were three promises he'd made to her that convinced her to come.

It would take two days, maximum.

They'd get back before she needed to meet her mom on Christmas Eve.

He'd buy lunch next week.

The last stipulation really didn't matter as much as the other two, but he knew it would take a lot to get her away from home so close to the holidays. He'd made sure the lead he'd agreed to follow up on was only a four hour car ride away from D.C, he checked the weather consistently for updates, and he made sure they left with plenty of time to spare.

In classic _Scooby Doo_ whodunit fashion, the 'ghostly happenings' Mulder had been interested in were just a bunch of bored locals tormenting the elderly. The only unexplainable phenomena was the freak snow storm that plagued the area.

"It's honestly okay," she reassured, glad when he nodded in agreement and pulled off to the next frontage road. To be honest, she'd wanted to go on this case to spend more time with him. She knew she'd be away for a few days and she wanted enough time with Mulder to tide her over until after Christmas. She'd just wished it hadn't taken this semi-dangerous turn.

Mulder was apparently starting to gain confidence in his driving now that he was off the main road, feeling bold enough to accelerate to fifteen miles an hour. In the distance, she saw a bright, neon blue sign that was half lit. "BA-ES MOTEL," available vacancies promoted underneath. She sighed in relief at the oncoming solace, despite the apparent heavy construction going on outside.

That relief quickly passed as Mulder drove past the entrance. "Mulder?" she prompted.

"Scully, if I'm keeping you away from family during the holidays. I'm not dragging you to a crappy motel that looks like a death trap," he implored.

She was about to bring up the fact that they had no idea if anything better was going to or would ever come up, but she knew he felt bad and didn't want to make him feel worse. "Thank you," she replied softly.

In the spirit of the holidays, they had a Christmas Miracle of their own as a Hilton sign glowed in the distance. Wordlessly, Mulder pulled into the parking lot and they got their things out of the car, rushing into the hotel for warmth.

Gone were the spiderwebs and lecherous old men of the many motels they checked into. This place has a crystal chandelier, gold speckled countertops, and beautiful marble floors. Mulder let out a low whistle of approval as Scully murmured, "Mulder, this place has to be expensive. We can seriously go back to the motel a couple miles back."

He looked down at her with a boyish, charming smile and assured her, "Don't be silly. I want to do this. It's the least I can do."

She was about to say he didn't owe her anything, but he'd already stepped up to the front counter. "Can I get conjoining rooms, please?" Mulder asked the older woman at the front desk.

"I'm afraid we're all out of conjoining rooms," she said with customary disappointment. Her _Loves Baby Soft_ Perfume was almost suffocating, yet the woman seemed completely unfazed.

"They don't have to attach. Do you have two rooms next to each other?" Scully asked, taking off her gloves.

"No, but we do have accommodations for two," she responded, looking at the computer monitor.

Mulder and Scully looked at each other before looking back to the woman. "Two beds?" Mulder asked softly, sensing the answer.

"No, just one."

"Do you have a room with a king bed?" Scully asked hopefully.

"Actually, yes! The only room we have left is the big suite, which does include a king bed," she informed them.

There was a moment of silence as agitation fell over two thirds of the party and oblivion settled over the other. "Why didn't you lead with that?" Mulder asked evenly.

"You didn't ask," she replied with a shrug.

Mulder sighed and started rubbing his hand over the back of his neck as he clearly thought the plan fell through. His demeanor immediately shifted when Scully spoke up and said, "We'll take it."

The woman began making the accommodations as Mulder turned to Scully. "Are you sure?" he murmured.

"We've shared a bed before, Mulder," she shrugged.

Images of Kroner, Kansas flashed through her mind. The night following the high school reunion was hours spent laying side by side in the darkness, both hugging the edge so tightly they were constantly risking falling off. The occasional "sorry" and "do you have enough room?" would break the uncomfortable silence, but other than a load of tension, nothing happened. The following morning, they both slept like babies on the plane.

Mulder gulped, almost imperceptibly, but nodded. "You're right." There was a beat before he turned to her again and leaned closer to her ear. "Only if you promise to keep your hands to yourself," he murmured.

Luckily, the front desk woman interrupted him before he had a chance to catch her blush. "Cash, check, or credit?"

Despite her offering several times to pay half of the room, Mulder took care of all the information before loading their stuff onto a luggage cart. "We only have two bags. I think we can handle it," she replied quizzically as he handed her the key.

"I forgot something in the car. Do you mind if I meet you up in the room?" he asked.

"Um, no. No, go ahead," she murmured, taking the key from his outstretched hand.

She watched as he walked out of the revolving doors and jogged away. She even waited for a moment, figuring he'd be right back since he just needed to grab something, but he was taking his time. With a tired sigh, she grabbed the trolley and pushed it towards the elevator and made her way to their room.

 _Holy shit._ _If they had rooms like this for every case, she'd complain far less._

The room was extravagantly large with a gigantic king bed in the middle of it. There was a large television set with surround sound speakers on the other side of the wall, facing the bed. She set the bags down on the bed before pushing the cart into the hallway. When she came back in, she went to the window to look at the view.

The snow was awful to be in, but beautiful to look at. She could see the snowflakes gently dancing as they fell down several stories onto the banks of snow. Scully felt a small smile quirk up her lip. It was beautiful. From this high up, she felt like she could see miles out. It was like blankets of white, pure and completely undisturbed laid before her.

_What the fuck?_

In the distant corner of the parking lot, where a small forest started, she saw a bunch of trees moving haphazardly. "Mu-" she started, before realizing he wasn't here to see this. One tree in particular was moving violently back and forth and she didn't understand what possibly could be causing it. She saw a trail of disturbed snow she hadn't noticed before leading from the forest to… their car.

"What the hell is he doing?" she murmured.

She watched at the windows, arm crossed over her chest, for five minutes until she saw Mulder emerge from the woods. He was covered in snow with a branch in his hand.

 _No_. Not a branch. He'd somehow managed to break off the top of a tree so he had a small triangle of a mini tree. Realization dawned on her and she felt her face grow hot. _He was making her an impromptu Christmas._ A smile broke across her face as she watched him trudge through the snow, his prize swinging back in forth at his side.

Her amusement was interrupted by the muted ringing of her phone. She turned away from the window and rummaged through her bags to find her phone. _MOM_ reflected at her in black against the dull green of the screen and she pressed the button to answer. "Hey, Mom."

"Hey sweetie, is everything alright?" her mom's warm voice answered from the other end.

"I'm fine, but I have some bad news," she replied, walking around the room and touching various surfaces as she spoke.

"Is it Fox? Is he hurt?" Maggie Scully rushed. It was her go-to move with bad news. First, was she herself okay. Second, was 'Fox' okay. A pattern she'd learned through too much experience.

Her mother's worry for Mulder always made the towering man blush in appreciation, and she was glad that another person in the world cared about him like she did. " _Mulder_ is okay too, promise. We just were on our way from a case a few hours away, but halfway back a snow storm hit so we had to stop."

"You're in the middle of that! Oh, Dana, the Winter Storm Warning is in full effect. The Doppler Radar is completely white around it. You were driving in that?" she chastised.

"Well, Mulder was. We're technically only about an hour and a half away, but it would take us all through the night if we tried. I'll be back tomorrow. I'll just miss the presents though," she explained, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.

Opening presents on Christmas morning was her favorite part and they both knew she didn't like missing it. Two years ago, her Christmas had been completely uprooted by finding out about Emily. The year after, she could sense her whole family was still worried about her. This year she was going to just enjoy the holidays and show them she was fine.

_So much for that. She could already hear Bill's condescending comments when her mom tells him why she won't be there._

"The best gift I could get is knowing you're safe and out of the storm. Where are you staying?" she asked.

"Mulder is blaming himself for all of this and feeling really guilty about keeping me away from the family, so he checked us into the Hilton," she explained, turning the lights in the bathroom on and off as she looked at the beautiful, glass panelled shower.

"Well, I consider him an honorary part of our family, so tell him his guilt is misplaced. If you can't be here, I'm glad you're with him," Mrs. Scully reassured. Scully could practically hear her smiling through her implications.

"Mo-o-om," Scully drew out, using the exact same tone she'd get when her mom embarrassed her as a teen.

Mrs. Scully laughed before adding, "I hope you enjoy the hotel sweetie. Try to have fun. I'll make sure to save all your presents from Matthew's enthusiasm in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," Scully nodded with a smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Tell Fox I said hello."

"Will do. Merry Christmas, Mom."

"Merry Christmas, Dana."

Scully hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed at the same time a loud knock resonated in the room. She jogged over to the door so she could open it and let Mulder in. "I thought you just said you needed to quickly grab something from the car?" she asked, pretending like she hadn't seen his little excursion into the woods.

He stumbled in, bringing his tree along with a bag resting around his forearm and a serving tray in his other hand. "I may have had to make a few stops along the way," he replied, slightly out of breath.

"Um, Mulder. What is all that?" she asked, pointing towards all his stuff.

He set the serving tray down on a nearby table before turning to her with a shy smile. "I know how much you love Christmas, and I feel really bad that I kinda ruined it for you-" he started.

"Mulder-" she fruitlessly tried to interrupt.

"-so I wanted to try and make it up to you. I know it's not much, but I thought we could have a little Christmas of our own," he explained.

As skillfully as he could, he perched his mini-tree upright and kept it steady by shoving the hotel phone and phone directory on either side of the base. Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a piece of yellow, lined paper he'd cut into the shape of a star and place it on the top. "Tah-dah," he exclaimed with an embarrassed laugh, gesturing to the Christmas Tree.

Encouraged by her genuine, happy laughter, he pulled out his bag and placed several balls of toilet paper under the tree. "What are these?" she asked reaching out, only to have her hand lightly slapped away by Mulder.

"Tsk, tsk," he chastised. "You can't open presents before Christmas."

Her brow furrowed in confused surprise as she looked at the small balls, noting that they were actually little bundles that had been wrapped in toilet paper. "How did you get me presents, Mulder? You were only gone for ten minutes."

He looked at her in surprise and exclaimed in a whisper, "What? You want me to reveal Santa's secrets and end up on the naughty list? Nice try, Scully," he joked.

She raised her hands in mock surrender and stated, "Okay, okay." Turning her attention to the large serving tray, she asked, "Did Santa steal that too?"

A small smirk spread across his lips as he replied, "Just borrowing." He uncovered the tray to reveal a glass of milk and several baggies of _Famous Amos_ cookies.

It was such a ridiculously sweet gesture, she couldn't help the "aww" that escaped her lips.

"So I did good?" he asked.

"You did great, Mulder," she replied, bridging the gap between them so she could slide her arms under his coat to wrap around him in a hug. She felt him hug her back and rest his head on hers.

"I'm sorry I dragged you out here," he mumbled, sending vibrations through her scalp.

"I wouldn't have come if I didn't want to. I knew the risks. But I don't regret it," she murmured.

"Really?" he asked, drawing back to look at her.

She moved so she was looking up at him and shook her head. "I'm happy where I am," she responded, hoping he couldn't feel the way her heart beat grew faster in her chest.

A knock at the door startled them both, making them jump away from each other. Scully looked questioningly at Mulder, who jokingly exclaimed, "He came!"

Scully rolled her eyes before watching him go to answer the door, exchanging money with a bell boy before bringing in another tray. "Another present?" she asked.

He set the tray on the table and opened it to reveal two plates adorned with ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and an assortment of other goodies. A surprisingly well put together Christmas meal. Mulder looked at her stunned expression with a smile before proudly declaring, "Dinner is served."


	2. A Six Foot Santa

"I'm impressed," she praised from her position on the loveseat, watching him adjust himself on the seat across the room.

"At my ability to scarf down an entire Christmas dinner in under ten minutes?" he asked, rubbing his stomach in a soothing gesture.

She snorted and gathered a forkful of green bean casserole. "It's sure something, but I'm not sure if 'impressive' is the right word," she teased, earning a smile. "But, seriously, I'm impressed by your ability to create the perfect Christmas atmosphere in just a few minutes. You made something out of nothing."

He grinned at her compliment and started taking off his tie. "Well, I'm just happy the hotel was running this special. We were very close to celebrating with the Thursday meatloaf special."

She watched as he let his tie fall to the table in a heap before undoing the top few buttons of his shirt. The falling snow had wetted his hair earlier, and now the cowlick she'd seen him spend so much time trying to tame was dangling in front of his forehead. Looking a little farther down, she saw his attention was on her and that he was mischievously smiling. "Do I have food on my face?" he asked, knowing full well he didn't.

She smiled shyly and said he didn't as she stood up and brought her plate over to the kitchenette, scraping the remnants of her meal into the trash before washing her dish. "Scull-ee," he drew out, causing her to look at him with a raised brow.

"Yes?" she asked, walking over and snagging his plate so she could do the same.

"This is a hotel, live a little. You don't have to do chores," he informed her, getting up and moving their stuff onto the bed bench.

"I am living a little. Living a little in a room that won't attract bugs," she shrugged, setting the dishes carefully to the side. "Do you want to-" she started, stopping mid sentence when she turned around and saw Mulder taking off his shirt.

"Sorry, I thought you were going to be turned longer than that," he laughed, bringing his hand to the front of his jeans which had been hanging open as his shirt fell off his arm onto the ground.

She turned back around and grabbed a hand towel to dry the dishes and give him more time. "No, you're fine. Sorry."

"What were you saying?" he asked.

"Do you want to rent a movie from Pay-Per-View?" she asked. She could hear the joke forming on his lips and she beat him to the punch, "Of the clothed variety?"

"Awwh, no fun," he play-pouted. She rolled her eyes as she laid the clean dishes on the counter. "You can turn around now," he stated.

She felt ridiculous for acting like a schoolgirl seeing the flesh of a boy for the first time, but it often took her off guard how mindlessly intimate they tended to be around each other. That, and it was off-putting to see Adonis standing right behind her. Though his new outfit didn't comfort her much either. She'd always been a sucker for comfy-Mulder, and his heather gray shirt and plaid boxers were just reminding her why.

"I hope you don't mind," he spoke, kicking his clothes under the bed as if that was a form of cleaning. "I just wanted to get into something more comfortable to relax in."

She shook her head and walked over to grab her bag. "You're fine. I was planning on doing the same," she replied, unzipping her bag.

Mulder snatched a bag of cookies before crawling onto the left side of the bed. Same as Kroner. Ignoring his lounged form as he found the remote, she sifted through her bag trying to find her pajamas. She knew they were in here, she'd been wearing the dark purple set last night. She distinctly remembered going to the bathroom this morning and getting changed...and then Mulder knocked and she completely forgot about them.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath.

"Hmm?" Mulder hummed through a mouthful of cookies.

"I-uh," she started, looking through her clothes to find a suitable alternative, but only finding blouses and skirts.

"You didn't bring any pajamas?" Mulder asked incredulously. She looked up at him and saw he had a surprised, amused smile on his face. "Scully, I had no idea you sleep n-"

"I brought clothes, Mulder," she replied, continuing her fruitless search. "I just forgot them."

"Use something of mine," he shrugged, gesturing to his bag with his foot.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Part of her was hesitant; that was definitely crossing the hyperbolic line they'd drawn in the sand. Though that line was nearly obliterated from the amount of tiptoeing they'd been doing on it, she was still apprehensive about what would happen when they crossed it for good. The other part wanted to fulfil her long standing curiosity of finding out how good it would feel to wear his clothes.

"Of course," he answered.

She unzipped his bag and trifled through it. The first thing she pulled out was a black shirt. "Clean or dirty?" she asked, holding it up.

He stared at them with a scruitning eye and pursed his lips. "Clean?" he drew out with an upwards inflection.

She pressed it to her face and smelled it. "Bold move, Scully," he laughed. It smelled like him after a long day. It reminded her of being in his arms - like a wearable comfort blanket.

"This'll work. Thank you," she replied, grabbing her toiletry bag and heading to the bathroom.

Closing the door, she set her bag down and felt the shirt in her hands. She'd seen him wear this countless times he'd come over to her place, and she had no doubt this is probably what he slept in last night. The fabric was thin and worn between her fingers and she hoped it wouldn't be see-through.

She stripped herself, placing her clothes in a near pile until she was left in her bra and underwear. Bra or no bra? Bra or no bra? The mantra ran through her head as she wiped her makeup off, washed her face, and brushed her hair. There was a reason they kept trying to find every opportunity to hang out more recently, a reason parting after a movie night took so much longer, a reason she'd been working out more recently but not allowing herself to think of the implications of why.

Fuck the bra.

She let it fall onto the pile of clothes that she was going to leave there to change into tomorrow, and slid his shirt over her head - a whoosh of his scent washing over her. It hung on her like a dress, cutting off at her upper thighs. She was always shocked at the little reminders of how much bigger he was than her as he'd never once made her feel small.

Combing her fingers through her hair, she walked out and was met with a low whistle. She raised an eyebrow as she failed to suppress a smirk. "Who knew Fruit of the Loom could look so good," he teased.

"Thanks," she laughed, crawling onto the bed opposite of him. The bed was roomy, they had a good arm's distance away from each other, but she could still tell Mulder was trying to be mindful of giving her space. "Are you comfortable?" she asked, grabbing a pillow from behind her and setting it on her lap.

"Yeah," he replied. "Are you?" he replied. His intonation was gentle and she got the feeling he was asking about more than just the size of her sleeping accommodations. Sharing the bed with him, wearing his shirt, being so domestic; Was it comfortable?

She looked over at him and focused on his five o'clock shadow that was starting to darken his face before flitting to his eyes which were examining her entire demeanour. She nodded honestly, openly, and replied, "Yeah. I am."

He smiled and fiddled with the television remote. "Uh, there's not much on, to be honest. Unless you want to watch the new Pokemon movie?"

"Tempting," she deadpanned as she watched him scroll through the channels. "Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing his wrist to stop him as soon as she saw the cartoon kids dancing around. "Let's watch this."

"Charlie Brown?" he asked, already setting the remote on the nightstand.

"This was one of my favorites growing up," she admitted, retracting her hand and squishing the pillow against herself.

"Hmm, I wouldn't have guessed," he mused.

"Oh really?" she prompted, turning her head to look at his sprawled form.

He shrugged and nodded lightly. "Yeah, I would have taken you as a sucker for the old black and white classics. You know, Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life or White Christmas."

"Those are good, but this one has my heart," she said, her gaze flitting to their own little sad tree standing proudly in the corner.

She nuzzled into the pillows behind her so she was reclining parallel to him. "Do you have a favorite? I know Christmas isn't really your thing, but-"

"Christmas Vacation," he answered immediately. "It's endlessly funny."

She let out a little chortle in response, but agreed nonetheless. "You're right. That's a classic."

"But aside from that, I usually don't watch them. They just make me-" he broke off, then with a shrug added, "I dunno."

"Sad?" she offered.

"Melancholy, nostalgic, sentimental. Even the scene in Christmas Vacation when Clark is going through the family videos gets to me. It's just, you know, nice to think about. A bunch of people with a shared history, who all love each other, coming together. I don't subscribe to the religious aspect, and the commercial consumerism aspect turns me off, but the familial joining aspect of it - I don't know. It just seems nice. We never did anything like that growing up so I can't really say I miss it...I just like it," he rambled, trying to put words to an indescribable feeling.

She understood though. Of course the man whose mission is finding family would get sentimental during a holiday dedicated to the celebration of family. She reached over and grabbed his hand in hers, bringing it up to her mouth so she could press a kiss against the back of his hand. "My mom called when you were out making Christmas happen," she started, letting their still-joined hands fall onto the bed between them. "I told her you were being ridiculous and feeling guilty for 'keeping me away from family'."

"I'm still sorr-," he tried to interrupt.

Speaking over him, she continued, "She said that was absurd because as far as she's concerned, you are family." A small smile broke out on Mulder's face and she felt him squeeze her hand. The gentle sound of children singing of Hark the Herald Sings acted as background music. "Mulder, I'm not upset. I hope you know that. I'm just as happy here as I would be there."

"Can I be honest?" he murmured softly. She felt her heart pound in her chest at all the possible things he was going to say, and she hoped he couldn't feel how sweaty her palms were getting.

"Of course," she whispered in response, twisting her body a bit more towards him without letting go of his hand.

"This is the best holiday celebration I've had since I don't even know how long," he admitted.

She felt a small, sad smile quirk her lips. They were miles away from home, they'd only barely watched the tail end of a Christmas movie, her present for him wasn't even here, yet just being together was enough to make him happy. As much as that touched her, and as much as she was enjoying herself too, she felt bad for the years she could have invited him to her family's get togethers or just spend a little more time with him instead of complaining about the cases.

"Well," he interjected, interrupting her train of thought. "Actually, I did have a lot of fun last year too, you know, after the whole thinking we were dead thing."

She smiled at the memory. She'd lasted all but an hour after getting back from the haunted mansion before she was driving across town to see him again. Whether it was the adrenaline rush or the ghostly-gift of a mini-existential crisis, she wasn't sure. But spending the wee morning hours laughing at his place and exchanging gifts before heading to her Mom's was a priceless gift.

"I agree. That was fun, minus the thinking we were dead thing," she replied, getting a smile from him.

A loud commercial drew both of their attention to the screen, breaking up the serenity of the moment. Her eyes caught sight of the clock at the same time he announced, "Merry Christmas, Scully."

She turned over to him and saw he was looking straight at her; his eyes were brimming with so much affection she swore they were twinkling. "Merry Christmas, Mulder."

Sitting up a bit in the bed, he turned to her and motioned his head towards the tree. "Wanna be a rebel and open a present early?"

With a wicked smile, she threw the pillow from her lap and scooted to the end of the bed. "Of course."


	3. Redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to RationalCashew for beta-ing the last two chapters! Sisters in sleep deprivation <3

With an enthusiasm that hadn't changed since she was a girl, she gathered around the Christmas tree and looked eagerly at her presents. "Does it matter which one I choose?" she asked, turning around to Mulder who was sitting on the edge of the bed nearest to her.

He shook his head, pleased he'd elicited this reaction from her. "No, you have free range."

"I'm sorry that you'll have to wait for your present," she apologized.

He raised a hand and waved off her concern. "Don't be."

Turning back, she looked at her options. All were roughly the same size, and all were haphazardly wrapped with hotel toilet paper. She could see the yellow legal paper Mulder had used for the tree topper peeking out of one, so she grabbed it and walked over to sit next to Mulder on the bed. She looked at him and sent a beaming smile at him in excitement, holding it to her ear while shaking it.

"Careful, it's fragile," he joked.

Putting the present in her lap, she gently unwrapped the toilet paper to reveal several pieces of paper cut into the shape of checks. She turned to him with a questioning gaze, but instead caught him staring at the skin of her shoulder, revealed by the collar of the shirt sagging and showing the area where her bra strap would normally be.

Turning away so he, hopefully, wouldn't feel caught, she turned the sheets over and saw he'd somehow put together a faux-coupon booklet. Written on the front in his rushed scrawl was: _The Official Mulder Book of Coupons._ Then, at the bottom, was a poorly drawn copyright logo with the words _1999 Fox Mulder Productions. Redeemable by Dana Scully only._

"Thank God, I was so afraid I'd get an unofficial bootleg," she joked, letting her fingers touch the pen indentations.

"I had to jump through a few hoops to get it. I owe a few people some favors," he joked back.

She let her fingers run over the staples on the side as she examined the clean cuts. Turning to him, she asked, "You really harassed the front desk woman, didn't you?"

"A man never reveals his secrets," he replied with a smile. "But, let's just say, I'd appreciate it if you checked us out tomorrow." A throaty chuckle escaped her lips and he joined her before nudging her leg with his own. "Open it, there's more."

She flipped the front page over and saw his imitation of a store coupon.

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE "GET OUT OF WRITING A CASE REPORT"_

She laughed and asked, "You're telling me if I give you this coupon, you'll write my case report for me?"

He nodded proudly before raising a few fingers. "Scout's honor."

"Hmmm," she mused. "I love this already."

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE BREAKFAST ON MULDER, ANY PLACE_

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE LUNCH ON MULDER, ANY PLACE_

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE DINNER ON MULDER, ANY PLACE_

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE VENDING MACHINE RUN, AS MANY SNACKS AS YOU WANT_

She felt him lean in towards her while she read, and he murmured near her ear, "The front desk woman kept asking me what type of food I wanted for the Christmas special. I got a little one-track minded here."

"I can already say for sure that future me is very appreciative of that," she smiled.

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE HOUSE CLEANING_

"You'll clean my place? As in _clean_ my place?" she asked with an amused laugh.

He shrugged with a smile, "Deborah-at-the-desk recommended that when she saw what I was doing."

"Smart woman," She chuckled.

_REDEEM FOR FULL CONTROL OVER THE RADIO FOR AN ENTIRE ROAD TRIP_

"Oh, I am so saving this for the next time you drag me somewhere eight hours away," she teased.

"I just think you haven't given hair rock a fair chance, Scully."

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE ANYTHING YOU WANT_

_REDEEM FOR ONE FREE ANYTHING YOU WANT_

"What are these?" she asked.

"I felt like you were getting suspicious of my absurdly long trip to the car and I still needed to go to the bathroom to get the wrapping paper, so I just rushed the end. So they can be whatever you want them to be," he answered.

She looked at them for a moment with a smile on her face. She already knew exactly what it was going to be. With as much precision as possible, she tore off the first 'anything' one and handed it to him. "I'd like to redeem my coupon," she said in a fake, professional voice.

He let out a laugh and took the coupon, folding it and tossing it precariously onto the table a few feet away. "Already?" She nodded her head adamantly and he smiled at her enthusiasm. "Hit me."

"Come to my family's Christmas when we get back," she implored earnestly.

"Scully, I can't intrude. I-" he stopped and took in a sharp breath when her finger came to rest on his lips, silencing him.

"There was no return policy. I used my coupon. Besides," she stated, letting her hand fall. "I'd really like it if you came. Mom would, too."

He smiled at that, but still looked unsure. "What about Bill? He hates me."

"He hates most people. He should learn to be less insufferable about it. This will be a character building exercise for him," she shrugged.

"Thank you," he murmured, looking at her like she'd just absolved him.

"No, thank _you._ You didn't have to do any of this. Just one aspect would have been a nice, but still unnecessary gesture. You did this all for me," she told him appreciatively, looking around the room at all the little evidence of his love for her scattered amongst the usual hotel adornments. _Because that's exactly what they were._

"I just know how much the holidays mean to you," he shrugged.

She looked at him with focus and intensity. _Seven years of looking at this face and the light that seemed to shine when he looked at her was as bright as it was that first day._

Focusing back down on her lap, Scully saw the other 'redeem anything' coupon staring back at her. She was glad she was sitting down because she didn't trust how weak her legs were right now. She was sure if she tried to sit up, she'd just end up falling to the floor. With shaky hands, Scully reached towards the top edge of the paper and started slowly ripping it.

"Another?" he laughed. His smile faltered slightly when he saw the look of intense focus on her face. She held the paper out to him and he took it, his fingers just barely grazing hers.

He discarded that one like he had the last before turning back to her. "Your wish is my demand," he promised.

Flicking her eyes up to his, in a shaky voice she demanded, "I want you to kiss me."

She saw his nostrils flare and his throat constrict as his eyes fell briefly to her lips. "A-are you sure?"

She nodded and scooted back on the bed so he'd have better access. He licked his lips and mimicked her motions, scooting himself closer to her in the process. "Tell me when to stop, okay?" he murmured deeply.

"Okay." She wasn't even sure if the word was voiced or if it just came out with a breath as she watched Mulder close the distance between them.

His lips were warm against her own, yet she felt a shutter run through her body as every hair stood on end. _She was kissing Mulder._ She gently, as to not startle him, wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him in. She let her tongue run over his bottom lip as he wrapped one hand across her back and one around her waist, bringing them awkwardly together on the bed. But the position didn't matter to her in the least as she felt Mulder's tongue glide against her own, testing the new territory in disbelief.

She tilted her head and pushed herself closer to him so that her chest was crushed against his. The hand that had been on her back slid up into her hair, and his tumb ran back and forth over the nape of her neck as he settled there.

Her breaths were coming in shuttered pants against his cheek as she continued suckling at his lips and letting their tongues explore the other. She wanted this kiss to last forever. She knew they'd have to take a breath eventually, and she knew he'd let her kiss him again. But this was _her_ Christmas present and she wanted it to go on for as long as possible.

She let her weight fall against his hands as her arms pulled on his neck. He took the hint and lowered her down onto the bed, so that her back was flush against the mattress and his forearms bracketed her head. One leg was laying in between his, the other was laying outside. She bent that leg and used it to nudge him into her, pressing his weight down on her.

His already blooming erection pressed firmly into her hip for a second before he broke the kiss and sat back on his legs, panting while trying to catch his breath. She let her hands fall onto her stomach, not caring that the shirt had risen enough to expose some midriff and her panties to him.

They said nothing as they both digested all that happened. She watched as his eyes wandered from her kiss-swollen lips, her heaving chest and prominent nipples, and her groin resting lewdly against his left knee due to his abrupt movement. She let her own eyes wander and she could see just how much of an effect that kiss had on him as his boxers were tenting away from his body.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured in praise. His expression drunk with longing.

"Was that okay?" she asked. The kiss itself was unquestionably phenomenal, but a lot more heated than he'd probably originally intended.

"More than okay," he reassured her. "Was it okay for you?" he asked, his hand coming to rub her outer thigh of her still bent leg.

"I didn't tell you to stop," she replied shyly, playing with the hem of her shirt.

A wicked smile broke out across his face and he let himself ease back on top of her, one hand snaking under her shirt to grab her ribs near her breast, the other he used to support his weight. He kissed her again, and it was just as electric as the first time. She let her hands wrap around him the best they could, so she could rub up and down his back soothingly, feeling how his muscles worked underneath the taut skin.

Scully wasn't sure how long she'd drag out this coupon, but she was sure Mulder would have no complaints if she kept cashing in. She knew they were planning on trying to be on the road in a few hours, and that they were already exhausted from the drive here, but she already felt like she was at home just from being in his arms. She had no intention of trying to leave anytime soon.


	4. Epilogue

As a kid, after Samantha, he often spent Christmas Eve daydreaming. He'd lay in bed and imagine that when he woke up, he'd finally be the one to experience a Christmas Miracle. Samantha would be there, rosy-cheeked and a beaming smile aimed right at him. His parents would sit around and watch as they opened presents. His mom would kiss his head fondly and his dad would go outside and play ball with him.

Instead, he'd wake up to a house haunted by the ghosts of Christmases past. As he opened the presents his mom undoubtably picked at random from the Sears catalog and his dad focused on the newspaper instead, they'd all be thinking of the pink bear Samantha had gotten the last Christmas she was there. The bear that now was collecting dust in the mausoleum that had once been a child's bedroom.

He'd always wondered what it would be like to sit at a table with so many people you could barely hear yourself think over the laughter. To be surrounded by unquestionable love and happiness. _Family._

"Hey," Scully whispered, bumping her knee against his. "You okay?" she asked, smiling as she swirled her eggnog around in her glass.

He looked at her, lounged next to him with a bright golden box in her lap, rainbow colored Christmas lights casting a kaleidoscope of colors onto her pale skin. "Fox!" Maggie Scully called from the other side of him.

He turned and saw the older woman navigating precariously around the family members chatting and sitting on the floor, presents scattered all around them. He stood and held out his hand to her, helping her keep balance as closed the gap to him. "I'm so glad you're here," she beamed, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you for letting me crash," he replied with a smile.

She made a tutting sound with her mouth and dismissed his comment. "Don't be silly. You're always welcome here. Thank you for getting Dana back in one piece. I'm glad we were able to occupy Matthew long enough to postpone the gift giving."

"Me, too," Scully called out from the couch, making both him and the older woman smile.

"Speaking of," Mrs. Scully said, raising a green bag from her side. "I'm extra happy you're here so I can finally give you your present myself instead of passing it through Dana."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Scully. You didn't have to do that," he smiled, taking the offered gift.

She slapped his arm playfully before giving him a stern look. "Enough of that, Fox, or else I'll put snow in your shoes."

He smiled at the threat and conceded with a smile, sitting back down next to Scully.

"I wanna see what you got," Scully demanded, nuzzling next to him and trying to peer into the package.

"Want to open at the same time?" he asked, gesturing to hers. She smiled and nodded, setting her drink down before tearing at the wrapping of her gift.

He looked into his own and pulled out a wad of green tissue paper. Unwrapping it carefully, he revealed a pack of four coffee mugs. One had a cartoon alien, another a cartoon sasquatch, then a cartoon Loch Ness Monster, and lastly a cartoon mothman. It was perfect. "Thank you, Mrs. Scully. This is perfect," he smiled.

Looking over, he saw Scully shooting a bashful smile to her mom. He glanced down to see what she got and was met with a brand new coffee maker. _Real subtle, Mrs. Scully._ He saw the woman offer then a fake-innocent shrug before winking and directing her attention to Bill trying to assemble a Fisher Price _Little People_ toy.

He watched as the little boy giggled in excitement, clapping his chubby hands together as he watched the adults fiddle with his new toy. He was so distracted by the sweet scene that he jumped in surprise when he felt a pair of lips press against his cheek. As soon as they were there, they disappeared, and by the time turned his head, Scully was already taking a sip of her drink.

She looked at him over the rim of her mug and shot him an innocent look that read 'what?'. He smiled at her before throwing an arm over the back of the couch and pulling her close to him, placing a kiss to the crown of her head. "Merry Christmas, Scully," he whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Mulder," she replied sweetly, nuzzling into his side.

_This was the Christmas he'd dreamt of._


End file.
